In the gutter of the road, a sad sight to see A deflated balloon, once floating carefree Yellow and happy, it soared up high But now it lies in the street, empty and flat
Though deflated and worn, its smile remains The happiness it once brought won’t quickly fade In its time with the breezes it danced and soared Brightening lives, setting hearts and spirits free
Now abandoned and forgotten, left to decay In the cold, wet gutter, it’s joy has passed But time’s fleeting breath, a cruel decree Leaves it in the gutter, forlorn and empty
Written for Sadje’s What Do You See prompt. Photo credit: Nathan Dunlap @ Unsplash.
“I’ve got a big bucket of buttered popcorn for us to share during the movie,” Debbie said.
“Ha, ha, very funny,” Mick said. “You know I can’t eat that shit.”
“Oh right,” Debbie said. “You have that condition called diverticulitis and your doctor told you to stay way from popcorn because if you eat it, you’re likely to get severe intestinal cramps and maybe even have to be hospitalized.”
“Yes, so why the hell would you tease me with a bucket of popcorn when you know I love it but can’t eat it without risking getting really sick?” Mick asked. “What kind of sadistic bitch are you, anyway?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe I want you to suffer ever since I heard that you were having an affair with you secretary, Deanna,” Debbie said. “So here, eat up, you good for nothing bastard.” Debbie took a handful of popcorn and stuffed it into Mick’s mouth. “Eat up, Mick. I’m sure Deanna would be happy to take you to the hospital and comfort you when you’re doubled over in agony.”
Back in the 70s and 80s and even into the 90s, in the marketplace for business software and services, there was a sales tool called FUD. IBM was especially good at promoting the concept of FUD in competitive situations. The idea was to create a sense of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD) for a prospective client to go with a solution that wasn’t IBM.
IBM was very effective at promoting itself as the only safe, reliable solution. Choose Big Blue and your project will be a success and you won’t lose your job by choosing a more risky alternative. Choose another provider, and you can’t be certain that it can meet the needs. Select some company other than IBM, and it’s doubtful that it can deliver on its promises. And if you don’t pick, IBM, when the project fails, you, as the decision maker, will be accountable for that failure and will likely loose your job.
This FUD strategy is decades old, and I don’t know if IBM or any other businesses still use this approach. However, the concept of FUD, promoting fear, uncertainty, and doubt, is at the foundation of the modern day Republican Party in the United States. Republican lawmakers know that they can’t win elections based upon their ideas and ideology. Most Americans are opposed to many of the societal changes being promoted by the Republican Party. So whether we’re talking about abortion rights, voting rights, LGBTQ rights, common sense gun laws, book bannings, racial equality, religious freedom, and climate change, the Republicans are swimming against the tide of public opinion.
So they have embraced a FUD-like strategy to divide people in order to stay in power. And sadly, it seems to be working with white America. Hence, what I’d change about modern society is the end of the use of FUD — fear, uncertainty, and doubt — in politics in favor of using positive messaging to promote progress and programs that will focus on the needs of most Americans rather than on the unenlightened self-interests of rich, white, male, straight, Christian Republicans.
Di, of Pensitivity101, is our host for Truthful Tuesday. This week Di is asking about gardens. Here’s what Di wants to know:
Does your property have a garden? If so, do you prefer a lawn or paving slabs, hedges or walls? If not, do you wish it had one?
Maybe there’s a little bit lost in translation here. When I think of a garden, I think of a plot of land dedicated to growing vegetables and fruit. We don’t have anything like that. Our property is fairly large, almost an acre. And we have devoted a lot of time and money into the landscaping in both in front of our house and in the back yard. But I wouldn’t describe what we have as a garden.
In the front we have a decorative dry creek bed of rocks and boulders and drought-tolerant shrubbery and trees, and a section of artificial turf. In the back we have a large recycling waterfall, about a dozen trees and a wide variety of mostly drought-tolerant shrubs, plants, decorative grasses, and bushes, a fire pit, a large natural bluestone patio, a play area, and another, larger section of artificial turf.
It’s landscaped, manicured, lighted, and has a water-efficient drip irrigation system in both the front and back. What we have surrounding our home is an idyllic, serene oasis that we enjoy just about every day of the year, year round.
It’s time for my weekly Story Starter prompt. Here’s how it works. Every Tuesday morning (my time), I’m going to give you a “teaser” sentence or sentence fragment and your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to build a story (prose or poetry) around that sentence/fragment. It doesn’t have to be the first sentence in your story, and you don’t even have to use it in your post at all if you don’t want to. The purpose of the teaser is simply to spark your imagination and to get your storytelling juices flowing.
This week’s Story Starter teaser is:
The biggest difference between a man and a cat is that a cat has nine lives.
If you care to write and post a story built from this teaser, be sure to link back to this post and to tag your post with #FSS. I would also encourage you to read and enjoy what your fellow bloggers do with their stories.
This, That, and the Other 